Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to heaters, including heater assemblies for heating pipes, fittings, and other piping system components.
State of the Prior Art
Many vacuum, process, transport, and other systems used in industry for conducting or moving various gaseous, liquid, or solid materials from one point to another include pipes, valves, and other pipe system components of various lengths, sizes, and shapes that have to be heated to maintain the pipes and/or materials in the pipes within certain temperature ranges. Pipe heaters for heating pipes for these and other purposes are well known to persons skilled in the art and have ranged from simple resistive wires and tape wrapped around the pipes to more sophisticated, insulated pipe heaters, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,738 (Hauschultz et al.), as well as many such heater products that are available commercially.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art and other examples of related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.